Kirby Star Squad
by AquaCirrus
Summary: Something is not quite right on Pop Star. Natural disasters and odd occurrences have been plaguing the planet for weeks now, and have not stopped since. A new organization, STAR, has started gathering teams of adventurers to investigate the events. It's up to Kirby, now armed with an adventuring team of his own, to solve the mystery before Pop Star tears itself apart.
1. Prolouge

*****Note: This is a Kirby fan-fic, the intention being a (hopefully) good story wherein an existing universe gets a little more fleshed out. Please be aware that I am using my own personal canon for this story as well as more than a few OC's for the sake of exploration, and that disagreements are not looked down upon. If you have any questions about the story, please feel free to message me.**

Prolouge

The meeting room was dark, save for the bright light of a single small screen bouncing off the glass walls, and quite, save for the humming of a large machine under the floor. The four short black chairs spread around the metal table were empty, save for one. Of course, no-one was to know that this conversation was taking place, certainly not any of the other members. A hushed voice spoke into a headset.

"Yeah, I'm all alone right now. What do you want?"

…

"Look, I'm not in the mood for formalities or jokes. Now, how about what I asked for. Did you transfer them?"

.

"Then that takes care of my business. Now as I said before, what do you want?"

…

He paused.

"What?!"

The exclamation bounced off the glass walls. He quickly glanced around to make sure no-one was there. People have an awful habit of sneaking up at the wrong time. He sighed with relief, thankful that he alone, and continued.

"That's all? Are you sure?"

.

He chuckled softly. "Seems like I got the better deal out of this then. Should be easy. Oh, and I'll remember to wait a little bit. That should help the both of us."

…

"Thanks. Oh, and next time, could you choose a better time for the meeting?"

..

"Fine. Pleasure speaking."

He clicked the microphone off and smiled. As the screen powered down, he checked his watch. Midnight. This was the start of a very good new year. He put on his hat and walked out the revolving glass door into the dark black night.


	2. Chapter 1 - Wake Up Call

Chapter 1 - Wake Up Call

Kirby sat on an unfinished roof, staring out into the dark far-away mountains and watching the sparkling stars of the night. How long had it been since they had started doing this? Kirby sighed. It had probably been a few months since he had gotten the entire team together, and even longer since the first real assignment he had taken a team on. He nailed two more wood boards together, hammering it in with his large wooden mallet by the yellow light of the lantern nearby. At the very least, the team was making progress on the roof. Now just a couple more beams and it would be complete. Kirby continued hammering as he let his thoughts wander back in time, back to his old house on the hill where it all began...

** Months earlier **

BRRR-ING-ING-ING-ING

BRRR-ING-ING-ING-ING

BRRR-ING-ING- *CRASH*

The gold alarm clattered to the wooden floor from the nightstand above, its face cracked from other, even earlier, mornings. The arm responsible for stopping it slipped back under the covers of the blue bed, hoping that the few rays of sunshine entering through the circular window weren't enough to wake it's owner.

A few moments of golden silence permeated the morning. Then, as if to answer for the broken clock, a rumbling sound grew beneath the floor boards. The ground started to shake, first gently, growing into full waves in only a few seconds. Startled, Kirby jumped awake, his light blue nightcap with white polka-dots popping off into the air, landing on top of his face.

"Not this again!" Kirby grumbled tiredly as he rolled out of bed. Grabbing his nightcap, he stumbled towards the wooden door, as the ground continued to bounce and bulge. Light poured into his eyes as he stepped outside, the grassy hill soft with dew underneath his feet, the sky shining as blue as sapphires even amidst the chaos on the ground.

A few bricks popped off the white chimney, bouncing down the white dome house before the earthquake ceased.

Kirby sighed with relief. At least he wouldn't have to repair the gosh darn thing this time. The news of such occurrences traveled quickly. He'd heard stories from Coo and Rick of forests being felled by floods and fires, and entire villages of Waddle Dees and others collapsing into the ground as a chasm swallowed them up. In others, tangled brambles had ensnared an area in a prickly maze, and in others thick fog would cause anyone within to lose their sense of direction, often exiting the mist at the same place where they had entered. There was even the odd house every once in a while that simply disappeared into thin air without anyone knowing how or why. According to some reports, even the Mirror World wasn't safe from trouble, tornadoes and sandstorms sometimes striking at random. The only good news these days was that the disasters weren't getting any more frequent or severe.

Yawning, Kirby started to make his way down the hill towards the nearby village. It was close enough to see from the top of the hill without too much trouble, even though it was small. A series of sandy paths had snaked their way around and through the surrounding hills, sometimes lined with wooden fences and lit by small ground-level lanterns at night. Flowers had just started blooming all over the area. Yellow buttons dotted some of the bushes, and the purple bell-drops were just starting to open their delicate lilac petals. The wind drew lines on the grass, pushing down the hill towards the quaint little town, and its wide cobblestone streets.

The inhabitants of Thimble Town were quite proud to live in their white stone houses with the copper-shingled roofs. Even though polishing the copper took many hours of maintenance and cleaning the stone streets and walls took more than a few extra hands, the town sparkled from a distance. The central fountain was always bursting with crystal water, sometimes running over into the small bushes with tiny white blossoms surrounding it. A wood bench or two was always open to the townsfolk for chatting, and most often people would continue milling about, doing their own business, with barely a care in the world. It was a quiet town, with its own collection of content locals, all working to the beat of their own life.

So it was a surprise when Kirby saw a crowd gathered in the middle of the town square, next to the fountain. Even mayor Lua's speeches wouldn't have garnered nearly as much attention. After not finding any entrance to hover into, Kirby started pushing his way towards the center, past Waddle Doos and Poppies, as well as a few mushroom-headed Cappies.

In the center of the crowd, right in front of the decorative bushes of the fountain stood a glass panel held up by white pillars. At least it looked like glass. On closer inspection, it was a bulletin board of some kind, covered in virtual letters posted with colored buttons in a part of the screen, each with a name and place marked on the back. However, the message on the side seemed to have stolen most of the crowd's attention. It read:

*Wanted: An Adventuring Team to explore the cause of incidents around the world and to help those in affected by them*

A rumble of annoyance ran through the crowd. "City people," grumbled an old Cappy next to Kirby, "always trying to impose a little modern nonsense on a nice country village that gets along just fine. The last thing we need are a bunch of hooligans running around the area."

"At least the board looks nice," Said a Waddle Dee, "Though I don't think I want to join an exploration team. Sounds dangerous."

"Why not?" Asked her friend, a yellow Waddle Doo cheerily, "Sometimes it's nice to get out of this village. Traveling to new places, exploring their hidden depths: it sounds like fun!"

After a few minutes, the crowd started to dissipate, slowly moving back to their routines as if nothing was different. The town itself didn't seem damaged at all, save for the occasional dropped flowerpot, or a few overturned white café chairs. A few old residents of the town walked up the street towards the mayor's office, peeved by the new object blocking the view of the fountain. Kirby continued to look at the screen. He reached up to touch one of the letters, a label on it reading "Green Hill". A short opening animation played, then the screen cut to the message.

"A small chasm opened up near Green Hill today. My husband and I were taking a walk when it opened, and his prized ring fell down. He then told me that he would be back in a few minutes and went down. I haven't seen him for an hour or so now, and I'm worried sick. Please help. ~ Ella"

Two buttons appeared at the bottom of the board, an emerald "Accept" and a garnet "Decline". He pushed the green button, and a screen asking for his official team name and license displayed. He sighed in annoyance and closed the window, the bulletin board returning to its original state. "Fine, I'll just go there by myself!" he thought as he started walking back down the northern path towards the hills, the winds of a new adventure blowing at his heels.

* * *

*****Authors Note: So yeah, first chapter up and running! An introduction to the premise (sort of), and we actually get to see Kirby this time! YAY! I've been planning this adventure for a while now, and it's great to get the old writing gears running again. This was a fairly easy chapter to write; I was just trying to get something substantial out (300-odd words just seems a little short) and I may not have revised it entirely well. **

**Also, if you're a fan of the anime, you may have noticed that I'm a lot more faithful to the games rather than the anime series. This is partly due to personal preference and experience, and partly due to a desire to explore a slightly different world. One might also note that tonally this is starting out pretty light. This is deliberate.**

**Still, it's only the beginning, and we have a long, _long_ way to go before we reach the end of this story. As per usual, comments, concerns and reviews are much appreciated.  
**


	3. Chapter 2 - Going Down

Chapter 2: Going Down

It took about ten or so minutes to walk to Green Hill from town, provided one didn't stop or slow down along the way. The green and blue hues burned their colors into the eyes of wanderers and passerby. A spring breeze wafted from the small ponds below, carrying the smells of the newly budding flowers with it. A familiar yellowish castle on a large hill sat in the distance, the usually imposing shape almost lost amidst the background of far-away mountains and forests.

A sudden yell made Kirby stop.

"HEY!"

Kirby turned to see a familiar blue bandanna rushing towards him on the path.

"HEY KIRBY!" yelled the Waddle Dee, puffing from running a good long distance. He smiled. "Finally I caught up to you!"

"Hi Bandanna!" replied Kirby. "It's been a while! How's everything going?"

"Meh, same as usual," he replied "Though Dedede's in a state. Yesterday we finished a tower on the back of the castle, then it fell again this morning. He's been screaming at everyone since. Something about not being able to get the work done right or such."

Kirby sighed, and grinned. "Some things never change. Hey, have you heard anything from Meta Knight recently? He's staying under the radar."

"I haven't heard anything from him or about him. In fact, since the adventure to Halcandra, he has not been in contact with anyone."

"That's odd. He usually doesn't disappear for this long. Say, what about Magalor? The last time I saw him, he seemed pretty upset."

"Well, awakening extra-dimensional demons tends to affect people, especially when you lose control for a little while. He's been soul-searching, no pun intended, for several months now. He stopped by my house for three days or so last month then left just as silently as he had come with the Lor Starcutter. Hopefully he'll get better; he was still pretty bad when I saw him last."

"That's somewhat okay news at least."

"Hey, how have you been holding out?"

"A few pieces popped off the chimney today, but other than that, nothing drastic. Nothing happened to the town.

"Do have to work in the castle now?"

Bandana sighed. "No, but I should get back all the same. Plans for restoring the tower have to get underway really quickly. The last thing we need is an angry king running around the place - especially if the disasters get worse.

"That's fine. Oh, watch out for strange screens appearing out of nowhere. It's not garish enough for Dedede's work, but whoever is putting them up is gaining a lot of attention in town."

"Thanks, I'll be on the lookout. I'll see you around then!"

"See ya!"

Bandana hurried back down the path, waving as he went, loose strands from the knot on the back of his head twirling in the breeze. Kirby continued waving until he couldn't see the bandana anymore, and continued on his way.

So even Castle Dedede was damaged by the disasters. That ruled that penguin of the equation, Kirby thought. He would never want to destroy anything of his own, especially not his castle. Still, that just unfolded the question even further. If the incidents weren't started by that self-proclaimed king, there most definitely was a problem. Even so, there hadn't been someone who had attacked Pop Star in such a weird indirect way for some time, possibly ever. The thought worried Kirby greatly.

He was still lost in thought when he tripped over something and started tumbling downhill, finally landing flat on his back in something soft. A voice screamed out happily:

"Finally! Somebody fell for it today!"

Kirby opened his eyes, and stared at the blue dome above. He lay on a huge pile of grass and leaves, piled up very recently for the unlucky whatever or whoever that decided to go for a walk on that path. He picked himself up and came face to face with a slightly shorter red puff-ball wearing a bright blue ribbon tied around her head. Her face lit up with a mischievous smile.

"Oh! It's the famous Kirby himself. Well waddya know! So how did I do? Did you see any signs of a tripwire? You should have seen your face when you fell; it was priceless!"

"Eh?" He said, still a little dizzy from tumbling, but more befuddled by the sudden appearance of another person. Especially one that talked so fast.

"I'll take that as a positive. Well hiya! My name's Alexandria, but you can call me Alex. Might as well you've already fallen for me!"  
She laughed loudly, the sound echoing off the nearby hills. Kirby stared. Then he broke out into a fit of laughter as well, the two almost falling down from the ordeal. A few bright seconds had passed before the two of them stopped laughing and finally calmed down.

"So... Alex, right? Why are you out here?"

"Well, haven't you seen the boards? They're all over the place, at least in Canvas City. I kept trying to find a group to join there, but everyone seems uninterested, unable to run a group themselves, won't let me join an already existing group. So I figured I'd go out and start a new group, by myself! So when I saw there was an easy job up here by Green Hill today that hadn't been taken, I figured that it would be an easy solo mission to start with."

"Wait, a job at Green Hill? Something about a lost ring and a husband right?"

"Hey, that's right! How would you know about that?" she asked accusingly.

"One of those boards sprung up in the nearby town just this morning. It really wasn't all that hard to notice."

"Oh. Okay then." Alex paused. Then, a small smirk started to grow on her face. "Hey, here's an idea, how about we race to the chasm, and then see what's going on! Sound like fun?

"Eh?"

"Alright then! Ready? Set! GO!"

As the cloud of dust settled, Kirby coughed a bit. He stared out into the hills where a red dot was traveling quite quickly on the paths. That was way more energy than anyone should have reasonably in the morning he thought. He started to walk down the path, now moving at a slightly quicker pace than normal.

* * *

When Kirby arrived at the newly formed tear in the earth, he found Alex laying on the grass next to the path, as well as a lavender-colored Squeak hopping agitatedly from side to side. He approached her.

"Excuse me, are you Ella, the one who sent out the request here this morning."

"Y-yes," She stuttered. A small white flower nestled next to her ear, trembling along with the rest of her. "Um, you know about what happened, so I was hoping you could help. He should be d-down there somewhere."

She motioned towards the chasm. "P-please be quick. He gets hurt really easily, and doesn't like being in danger that much. Um, just so you know..."

Kirby looked at the opening, then smiled. "Right, I'm on it!"

He started moving towards the entrance, and was about to jump in when Alex yelled "Don't!"

He stopped. Alex picked herself off the ground with a groan. "I've already tried jumping in by myself, but there's something stopping me from doing so."

She slowly walked over to the nearest wall, and poked the air above it. Suddenly, with a shimmer, a large purple bubble popped into view, with a large number 2 written on it. It covered the entire chasm with a violet veil, as if someone had decided to place the world's most garish "See, there you go." She grimaced a little as she rubbed her head. "I tried and ended up bouncing off it like a pinball. Who the heck thought this one up?!"

"I believe I can answer that." a voice replied from thin air. A square metallic device, about the size of a large jewelry box activated, and projected several beams of bright white light. A somewhat blurry hologram of a gray puff-ball with glasses and a white bow-tie appeared. Even projecting a calm smile on his face couldn't quite change the aura of order around his image. He continued to speak.

"My name is Mino. I'm the leader and the founder of STAR, the Society of Team Adventuring Resources. With the recent rash of strange happenings around the globe, we have set a system into place to keep as many people safe as is possible. Therefore, we judge each new are that opens on Pop Star and assign it a rating 2-10, based on how many people can enter as a minimum. We then label each one as a specific "dungeon", noting the relative depth or length of the area and it's contents. These dungeons are usually very dangerous, and we don't allow any people to enter by themselves once we find it."

"Hold up!" Said Alex, "Then how do people get stuck in these "dungeons" by themselves in the first place?"

The hologram stopped, and a large sign reading "Processing" replaced the image of Mino.

"Oh great," Alex groaned. "It's a blasted recording."

The puff-ball reappeared, this time with a slightly more serious face. "Unfortunately, we cannot guard these areas within an instantaneous amount of time due to delays in our reporting system. Therefore, if someone falls in or gets lost before we block off the area, there is nothing we can do. Registered adventurers or those wishing to prove their power must wear the official badge, or an emergency replacement before being able to enter the area. If you wish to enter the enclosed space, and have not registered yet, you can find a set of emergency badges in this case. Would you like to activate the emergency set?

"Yes!" replied Kirby impatiently.

The hologram paused for a second, then continued. "Please make sure you are with another person before continuing. Thank you for your continued coöperation."

The image disappeared, revealing the previously solid cube on the ground, now with an obvious lid on its top. Inside, sitting on pillowy black felt was a set of shining pale white circular disks with small blue wings attached, like a set of small eggs. Impossible to miss, red text shimmered on the front of the token, "For acute emergencies only". Centered on the back of the medallions was an adhesive strip, presumably not permanent.  
Lifting two of these badges up, Kirby gave one to Alex, and the other to himself, and stuck it on tight. It felt surprisingly heavy for such a small badge, and was cool to the touch, almost icy in its metallic sheen. As for Alex, she placed it on her headband, making sure that it stuck tight to the blue fabric.

"Not too shabby huh?" She grinned. "Now let's do this!"

"Sounds good to me!" laughed Kirby as they both took off towards the barrier. A few feet from the barrier, a chime played, and the two continued running right through.

Pointing towards a walkable ledge on the side of the chasm, Kirby took a hard right... which Alex didn't seem to catch. A second later, she noticed the absence of ground underneath her feet. Kirby stopped and peered over the edge into the darkness, only to pull back from the dizzying depths. A small "poof" could be heard from the floor below. A second passed slowly. Suddenly, "I'm okay!" came echoing off the walls into Kirby's ears.

Kirby sighed, partly in relief, and partly out of sheer disbelief. He shook his head, and then proceeded down, slowly melting into the darkness of the abyss as he went.

* * *

*****Author's Note: Finished! Revision is fun! On to Chapter 3!**


End file.
